The Next Boom

Cheap natural gas and increasingly competitive labor costs are bringing factories and jobs back to the U.S. Eight ways to win.

As the only industrialized superpower not decimated by World War II, the United States once made nearly 40% of the planet's goods. These days, that number has shrunk to 18%. We make American Girl dolls in China, Levi's jeans in Mexico, and enough movies in Vancouver to nickname it Hollywood North.

After decades of outsourcing, however, the U.S. is quietly enjoying a manufacturing revival, and companies like Apple (ticker: AAPL), Caterpillar (CAT), Ford Motor (F), General Electric (GE), and Whirlpool (WHR) are making more...